Reddit Releases Official AMA App on iPhone, Android Coming Later This Week

Reddit has been increasingly deserving of its self-issued nickname "the front page of the internet." The site boasts over 150 million monthly unique visitors and that figure just keeps going up. The site is now getting into mobile apps, but it's not just making another Reddit client—Reddit's first official app is only for AMAs.

Reddit has been increasingly deserving of its self-issued nickname "the front page of the internet." The site boasts over 150 million monthly unique visitors and that figure just keeps going up. The site is now getting into mobile apps, but it's not just making another Reddit client—Reddit's first official app is only for AMAs.

The Reddit AMA is one of the site's flagship user-created features. The subreddit it takes place on is /r/IAmA; as in, "I am a [something interesting]." It's one of the default subreddits new users are subscribed to, and it currently has more than 6 million active readers. That doesn't even include anyone who might browse the section without an account. AMA stands for Ask Me Anything, or AMAA (Ask Me Almost Anything) for the more timid.

AMAs have been done by technology heavyweights, celebrities, and regular people who have had interesting experiences. Unlike many areas of Reddit, AMAs are tightly moderated and verified by the staff. The biggest issue with the AMA format is that Reddit's nested comment system isn't ideal for asking and answering questions. It can be especially confusing for new users. That's why the AMA app was created. It's out now on iOS and should be available later this week on Android.

The app is for iPhone only on the Apple side of the fence with sections for hot, recent, and top AMAs. When an AMA is active and the subject is still answering questions, the app will have a badge so you can have at least some hope your question will be answered. It also offers a much better interface for adding your question and seeing all the responses.

The AMA app also supports upvoting and downvoting just like the website so you can prioritize the best questions and answers. it wouldn't be Reddit without the votes.

Ryan Whitwam is a freelance tech/science writer and fan of all things electronic. This long-time skeptic and former research scientist is a lover of the em dash and a defender of the Oxford comma. He also writes for Geek.com and ExtremeTech.
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